Roasted Chicken, Easy Pumpkin Bars, Calico Stuffed Squash

Dear Readers,

I hope you're having a great week so far!

Don't forget that the Dollar Stretcher Tips e-Book Collection is 37% off for our readers this week. This e-book collection is packed with do it yourself tips like Free Heat, Whiter Clothes Without Bleach, Saving Gas, Extending Produce Storage and more! Read more about it here.

Today on the blog, we're continuing the 4 part series about how we self-publish e-books and print books. Check it out here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

-Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

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If you would like to reprint any of the articles, tips or recipes from our newsletters for your newsletter (print or on-line), website or blog you may as long as you credit and link back to www.LivingOnADime.com .

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Today's Tips:

• Don't forget to hit the candy sales after Halloween.
  


• Check out non-candy items, too. One year, the store had a bag of 24 bags of lunch chips for a dollar. This was an even better deal then packaging my own chips.
  


• If you make candy for the holidays and use the melting chocolate wafers to dip it in, buy the orange wafers on clearance and add red food coloring (paste or gel) to use for Christmas.
  


• Don't forget to think about New Year's parties. Black and silver is used a lot for them, so pick up some black plates, napkins etc.
  

Today's Menu:

Roasted Chicken*
Mashed potatoes
Calico Stuffed Squash*
Speedy Breadsticks*
Easy Pumpkin Bars*

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Today's Recipes:

*Roast Chicken

1 chicken
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. thyme (to taste)
1 tsp. rosemary (to taste)
1 tsp. oregano (to taste)
olive oil
salt and pepper

Rub the inside of the chicken with garlic cloves. Put thyme, rosemary and oregano inside the bird. Rub the outside of the bird with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake at 450° to 500° for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 400° and roast for 35-45 minutes (for a 2 1/2 pound bird) or 1 hour (for a 3-5 pound bird) or until the temperature of the thigh reaches 180°. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6-8.

*Calico Stuffed Squash

3 small acorn squash
6 Tbsp. margarine or butter
6 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 (10 oz.) pkgs. frozen mixed veggies in butter sauce*
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup walnut halves

Cut squash in halves, scoop out pulp (the stringy gooey stuff around the seeds) and seeds. Place in a shallow baking pan, cut side down. Fill baking pan with 1/2-1 inch of water. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Carefully turn over, dot each squash with 1 Tbsp. margarine and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. brown sugar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 20 minutes more. While the squash are baking, cook veggies according to package directions. Add 1/3 cup brown sugar and walnuts. Fill centers of squash and serve. Makes 6 servings.

*Note: to make this recipe easier, you can use some canned mixed veggies with melted butter. You only really need to warm the veggies rather than worrying about cooking them when you do this.

*Speedy Breadsticks

1 (8 oz.) can of refrigerator biscuits
1 egg white, slightly beaten
Coarse salt

Heat oven to 400°. Grease a cookie sheet. Separate dough into 10 biscuits and cut each one in half. Roll into a pencil shape about 4-6 inches long. Place on cookie sheet, brush with egg and sprinkle with salt. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden.

*Easy Pumpkin Bars

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 yellow cake mix
3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice*
1 can vanilla frosting
3 oz cream cheese, softened
Nuts, optional

Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 15x10 jelly roll pan. Combine sugar, oil, pumpkin, and eggs on high for 1 minute. Add cake mix and spice. Mix 2 minutes on high speed. Fold in nuts, pour into pan and bake for 25-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes clean.

Combine frosting and cream cheese until smooth. Frost cooled bars. Store in fridge.

*Here's the pumpkin pie spice recipe from our Dining on a Dime cookbook. You'll need to triple it if you want to use it in the above recipe. You can also make a large batch and store so that it's ready for all those holiday recipes you want to try!

Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. cloves

Mix well. Makes 1 teaspoon.

Halloween Alternatives

Dear Readers,

Do you want to live better for less? Our friends over at Dollar Stretcher have offered our readers their Dollar Stretcher Tips e-Book Collection for only $12.50 this week! If you like the Tightwad Gazette, you'll love these e-books, jam packed with frugal tips including savings for the home, grocery savings, cars, health and beauty and more! This 8 e-book collection includes hundreds of the Dollar Stretcher's best frugal tips to help you save money. Read more about it here.

Do you have a great idea for a book or e-book but you aren't sure what it's going to take to sell it? I have started a 4 part series on the blog today explaining how we self-publish e-books and print books, so run over and check it out here.

If you're expecting lots of candy this year, check out our article on what to do with Leftover Halloween Candy.

Have a great week!

-Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

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Halloween Alternatives
by Tawra Kellam

Here are some alternatives to trick or treating for those of you who don't feel comfortable taking your kids to strangers' houses at Halloween. This is also great for young kids or if your kids are sick but still want to dress up and collect candy. As usual, these are just ideas to fuel your imagination. Be creative and have fun!

Have the Great Pumpkin visit. After dinner put the kids in the tub. While they are bathing, hide candy all over the house or yard. Then you can leave a trail of leaves around leading to the candies. Light some candles and turn off the lights. After the bath, let them put on their costumes and hunt for the candy.

Try letting the kids trick or treat door to door in each room of your house. Let them put on their costumes and you and your husband or grandparents can hide behind the door and give out the candy. This works much easier with at least 2 adults giving out the candy so that one can give out candy while the next is going to the next room.

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Halloween Hunt:

Using the same idea as an Easter Egg Hunt, hide little bags of candy corn, or other fun candy around the back yard. Set the kids loose and let them find the candy. Be sure to keep back some of the candy in case someone does poorly. That way you can give them a few more and keep it fun for everyone!

For another fun twist on this idea, hide mini pumpkins instead of candy. Let the kids find and decorate them with craft paint. Let small children attach construction paper cut-outs with glue sticks.

Guess How Many:

Fill a jar with candy corn or candy pumpkins and have guests guess how many are in the jar. (Don't forget to count as you put them in the jar!) Place the jar near the door and hand each guest a 3x5 card to put their name, their guess and their favorite Halloween candy. Halfway through the party read them all off and announce the winner.

Halloween Memory Game:

Place a few theme items such as a candy corn, apple, mini pumpkin etc. on a tray. Show the tray to the guests for a few seconds, then have them write down (or call out) as many items as they remember.

How Many Words:

Hand each person a sheet of paper printed out with a Halloween word or phrase such as Haunted House, Trick or Treat, or Scarecrow. Do these on the computer so you can include some small Halloween Graphics. Ask each person to make as many words as they can out of the letters in the phrase or word you've given them!

Fun Halloween Recipes!

Good Morning!

Don't forget to check out the 50% off special on our Menus On A Dime e-book series this week. These e-books are full of recipes and meal plans to make meal planning easier! Having your menus planned can save thousands of dollars each year in money not spent eating out. Go get it here!

I hope you're having a great week so far! Today is our 15th anniversary, so we're going to quit early today to celebrate! My, where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday!

(You can read about our "frugal wedding" here.)

Have a wonderful weekend!

-Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

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If you would like to reprint any of the articles, tips or recipes from our newsletters for your newsletter (print or on-line), website or blog you may as long as you credit and link back to www.LivingOnADime.com .

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Today's Tips:

• I love to buy caramels after Halloween when they are on sale. They are great to use for things like the Caramel Apple recipe below or to melt with a little water and use for caramel topping like on ice cream or spice cake.
  


• Don't forget to stock up on candy for your candy wreath or to use as stocking stuffers. Get enough for all those school parties. A bag of candy or two wrapped as a gift for a child or even for an adult works great, too.
  


• Find some cute containers at a thrift shop or garage sale and fill them with candy for for Christmas or hostess gifts. Even colorful candy in a clear cellophane bag with a bow makes a nice little gift out of candy you bought on sale after Halloween. I might not buy something wrapped in orange and black wrappers, but there are many candies that have "normal" wrappers.
  
  

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• Pre planned menus so you can cook once and eat three to five different meals!


• Easy meals you can make in 20 minutes or less

Learn More here!

---

Today's Recipes:

Here are some fun recipes for a Halloween dinner or for your Halloween parties.

This first recipe is an inexpensive, easy, no worry recipe, especially if you are feeding a crowd. Halloween night is always hectic for us with people coming and going at different times. This recipe can be kept warm in the crock pot, ready to eat whenever needed. Big and little "kids" alike like this!

Pot of Beans 'N Wieners
(or Pot of Beans 'N Cannibal Toes)

1 lb. wieners, cut into fourths
3 (16 oz.) cans pork and beans with juice
3 tsp. mustard
2-3 Tbsp. bacon grease
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup onion, chopped or 1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 cup barbeque sauce, optional

Place everything in a slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
Don't have a crock pot? Place in an oven proof pan or dish and bake at 200° uncovered for 2-3 hours or until thickened.

When making baked beans, if I want to bake them quickly, I leave them uncovered and bake about an hour at 350° or until thickened. Cooking it on the stove top on medium for about 30 minutes is the fastest method, but I think the flavors blend better when it is baked.

Chunky Caramel Apples
(no dip caramel apples)

26 caramels
2 Tbsp. water
4 medium apples, cubed
Nuts, chopped

Combine caramels and water in a sauce pan and melt, stirring constantly. Place apples in 4 individual bowls and pour caramel over each serving. Sprinkle with nuts.

Chilling Jack O' Lantern Brew

1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed milk (do not use evaporated)
1 (46 oz.) can pineapple juice
1 (2 liter) bottle of orange soda
Orange sherbet, optional

Chill everything. Mix in order in a punch bowl. Pour punch in cup then add a scoop of sherbet if you want.

Witch's Fingers - Sweet

Take your favorite sugar cookie dough (store bought or homemade) or any kind of "light colored" cookie dough that can be rolled. Roll it into fat finger shapes, pressing on each side of the center to make a knuckle.

You can also take a knife and score a few lines for wrinkles on the knuckle areas. Just look at your own fingers to get an idea.

Add almonds* (pointy end up) for finger nails. Bake according to the directions for your recipe until light brown on edges.

*You can mix some food coloring with a little water and paint the nails red or green before you press them into the fingers.

To serve, stand upright in a mug or glass.

Witch's Fingers - Savory

5 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 cup packed cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp. cornmeal
1 large egg
Kosher salt
30 almonds

Blend butter, cheese, flour and cornmeal together in bowl or food processor until looks like sand. Add egg and mix. Pat into 1/2 thick circle and wrap in plastic wrap. Put in the freezer for 15 minutes or in the fridge for 3 days.

Place dough between 2 - 14 inch (about) pieces of wax paper and roll into an 8x10 inch rectangle. Be careful not to wrinkle the paper. Place in the freezer again for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°.

Cut into thirty 1/2 inch by 5 inch strips. Lay on greased cookie sheet. Bend top of strip under slightly to look like the tip of a finger. Shape knuckles and add wrinkles. Add an almond* for the finger nail. Bake until lightly brown, about 15 minutes.

*You can mix some food coloring with a little water and paint the nails red or green before you press them into the fingers.

Note: For a very quick version, you could form fingers out of breadstick dough and just add the almonds. You can use canned biscuits for this, too.

Frighteningly Frugal Fun! - Inexpensive Halloween Ideas

Dear Readers,

With all the school concerts, games and activities this time of year, we decided to offer a special on our Menus On A Dime series this week. Having your menus planned can save thousands of dollars each year in money not spent eating out. It's really simple and takes just a few minutes a week to do. Grab the special here!

Don't forget to check here for more ideas for Halloween On A Dime and here for the Secrets of the Organized.

We've had several people ask if Dining on a Dime will be on sale for Christmas. The answer is a big YES! If you want to bless your friends and family with the gift that so many of you have enjoyed, this will be the best time to get them, so plan now who it will be. The sale will be during the 1st or 2nd week of Novemeber this year.

Also, if you would like to pass along any of our recipes, articles or tips to your readers you may do so. We just ask that you link back to www.LivingOnADime.com .

Have a great week!

-Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

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If you would like to reprint any of the articles, tips or recipes from our newsletters for your newsletter (print or on-line), website or blog you may as long as you credit and link back to www.LivingOnADime.com .

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Frighteningly Frugal Fun!
By Tawra Kellam

The average American family spends over $100 per year on Halloween goodies. As your kids drag you through aisles full of ghosts and goblins, the scariest thing about Halloween is threatening to leave bite marks in your pocketbook. No wonder so many moms flee screaming from the store... It can be much less expensive and a lot more fun to devise your own chilling creations. Here are a few fun recipes and tips that you can use to stave off the greenback gremlins and exercise your creative muscle. It won't hurt a bit!

Face Paint

1 tsp. corn starch
1/2 tsp. water
1/2 tsp. cold cream
food coloring

Mix all ingredients together in an old muffin pan and you are ready to paint. This amount makes one color.

Fake Wound

1 Tbsp. Vaseline
tissue
cocoa powder
2-3 drops red food coloring

Place Vaseline in a bowl. Add food coloring. Blend with a toothpick. Stir in a pinch of cocoa to make a darker blood color. Separate tissue. Using 1 layer, tear a 2x3 inch piece and place at wound site. Cover with petroleum jelly and mold into the shape of a wound. The center should be lower than the sides. Fill the center with the red petroleum jelly mixture. Sprinkle center with some cocoa. Sprinkle a little around the edges of the wound to make darker.

Wormy Apples

6 apples
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1/2 tsp. each ground cinnamon and nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
6 gummy worms
1 cup whipping cream (optional)

Core apples from blossom ends, leaving stem ends intact. Mix raisins and walnuts and stuff into cavities of cored apples. Set apples, stems up in a 9x13 pan. In a saucepan, mix brown sugar, water, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg; stir over high heat until mixture boils. Pour hot syrup around apples. Bake, uncovered, at 350°, basting occasionally with syrup, until apples are tender when pierced and skin begins to crack, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove apples from oven; cool in pan at least 10 minutes.

Set each apple in a small bowl and spoon syrup around fruit. In the top of each apple, cut a hole large enough for one of the candy worms and tuck one end into each apple, leaving most of the worm dangling. Offer cream to pour over apples. Makes 6 servings.

---

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Dramatically reduce your grocery bill making delicious meals that your family will love! You'll get:

• 121 Menus & 121 Recipes to make meal planning easier


• Pre planned menus so you can cook once and eat three to five different meals!


• Easy meals you can make in 20 minutes or less
  

Learn More here!

---

Halloween Tips:

Fake Blood- Mix 2/3 cup white corn syrup, 1 tsp. red food coloring, 2-3 drops blue food coloring to darken and 1 squirt dish soap (helps blood to run well).

Abrasions -Dab brown, red and black eye shadow on area. Apply blood over area with cotton balls. Use comb to gently scratch area in one direction. Apply cocoa or dirt over wound with cotton balls.

Black Eye - Apply red and blue eye shadow to depressions around eyes.

Bruises - Rub red and blue shadow over bony area to simulate recent bruises. Use blue and yellow eye shadow to create older bruises.

Look Old - Cover face with baby powder. Draw dark lines on your skin for wrinkles. Smooth edges to blend. Cover again with baby powder. Add baby powder to your hair to create gray hair.

Deviled Eyeballs - Make deviled eggs. Add a green olive with pimento in the center for an "eyeball".

Radioactive Juice - Mix equal parts Mountain Dew and blue Kool-Aid

Toxic Juice - Add some green food coloring to lemonade for a spooky color!

Brains - Scramble eggs with some green, yellow and blue food coloring

Bloody Eyeballs - Boil cherry tomatoes 30 seconds. Allow to cool; then peel skin.

Goblin Hand - Freeze green Kool-Aid in a rubber or latex glove, float in punch.

Use the tape from old cassettes or black yarn to make spider webs.

Use cotton balls stretched out for small spider webs.

Glass Jack-o-Lantern - Outline a pumpkin face on a spaghetti or pickle jar with black paint. The paint around the outside of it with orange paint. Place a candle inside for a jack-o-lantern.

Edible Slime - Pour lime gelatin into a glass bowl. After it is partially set, add gummy worms. Chill until lightly set. Then serve slopped all over the plate.

Bloody Popcorn - Add red food color to melted butter and pour over popcorn.

Freeze gummy worms in ice cubes and add them to drinks. Cut gummy worms in half if needed.

Have a Pumpkin Hunt

Hide mini pumpkins like you would Easter Eggs. Let the kids find and decorate them. For small children use glue sticks with construction paper cut-outs for decorations.

Halloween Guess It Game

In this game, you challenge the participants to reach into mystery boxes filled with creepy things and try to guess what each item is. The person with the most correct answers wins the game. An example is if you want them to guess "grapes", you might try to confuse them by saying, "I think it's eyeballs..."

Cut a hole in the top of a shoe box or laundry box for each item to be used. Cover the box with black spray paint. Decorate each box with pumpkins or spiders for a more festive flavor. Place the following items inside, one per box. Be sure to place enough of each item so the guests can adequately "feel" the guts.

• Eyeballs - grapes or peeled cherry tomatoes
  


• Intestines - Cooked Spaghetti
  


• Skin - oil a piece of plastic bag
  


• Brains - scrambled eggs
  


• Hair - an old clown wig
  


• Bones - thoroughly washed chicken bones placed in some sand
  


• Vomit - chunky salsa
  


• Fingers - hot dogs cut into finger sized pieces
  


• Teeth - corn nuts, pine nuts or popcorn
  

Deluxe Stuffed Peppers, Apple Nut Dumplings

Hello Everyone!

Don't forget to check out the Freezer Cooking e-book collection that's available to our subscribers for 75% off this week! This Freezer Cooking Collection from Hillbillyhousewife.com makes freezer cooking simple, with lots of pointers and recipes to help you get started. It includes 4 freezer cooking e-books and 5 bonus items, but it's only good until Monday, so check it out now!

Have you ever wondered how to Roast Pumpkin Seeds? Learn how to do it here. This is one of my favorite treats and I am so glad that we have 4 pumpkins to carve this year! By the way, we got our pumpkins at Aldi, where they were $2.79 each for huge pumpkins. What a deal!!

Don't forget to check out the blog where Susanne is guest posting this week on Freezer Meals. Since we have the flu this week, I'm so glad she's stopped in to give some of her good advice!

Also, if you haven't heard the big news about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, be sure to check out this post.

Have a great weekend!

-Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

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If you would like to reprint any of the articles, tips or recipes from our newsletters for your newsletter (print or on-line), website or blog you may as long as you credit and link back to www.LivingOnADime.com .

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Today's Tips:

• To help organize your recipes, make a list of what I call "seasonal" recipes in a small notebook or a separate card that you keep at the front of your recipe box. For example, I write "Apples" at the top of an index card and then list my apple recipes and where to find them (Dining on a Dime pg 285) on the card. Then, on a separate card, I write "Strawberries" and list my strawberry recipes, and so on. That way when apples come into season and I can get a good deal on them, I know exactly where my apple recipes are to use them.
  


• You can make your own tortilla chips and it is often cheaper than buying them. Just buy a package of corn tortillas and cut them into quarters. Heat a small amount of oil (about 1/2 an inch) in a frying pan. Fry the tortilla quarters in the pan. Fry on one side until golden and then flip and fry on the other side. These fry quickly so be on your toes. When they're done, place on a paper towel to drain. Serve with honey, salsa or dip.
  


• Have you ever wondered how to use all those cereal crumbs at the bottom of the bag? The recipe below is a great way to use them. You can also finely crush them and roll pieces of chicken in them to make chicken nuggets or, after you dip your French toast in your egg mixture, dip it in the cereal crumbs before cooking.
  

Today's Menu:

Deluxe Stuffed Peppers*
Rice
Tortilla chips and salsa
Choco Coco Crunchers*
Bonus Recipe*

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(expires October 19th.)

Serve healthy, inexpensive and home-made meals for your family every night of the week!

Freezer Cooking Made Simple is a step-by-step guide to making your very own freezer meals at a fraction of the cost frozen meals from the grocery store.

The Freezer Cooking Collection also includes Freezer Casseroles, Freezer Soups and Stews, Freezer Chicken Recipes, Freezer Ground Beef and Ground Turkey and 5 bonus items!

It's only 75% off until Monday, so check it out today!

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Today's Recipes:

This recipe is great for a meatless dinner. It's also a good way to use those couple of cups of cooked rice you had left over from the night before. You can serve it with an extra helping of rice on the side if you like.

*Deluxe Stuffed Peppers

4 large green bell peppers, halved and seeded

Filling:

2 cups cooked rice
4 oz. (1 cup) cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (16 oz.) can Green Giant Mexican Beans, undrained
1 (11 oz.) can Mexican whole kernel corn (you can use regular corn seasoned with a little chili powder)

Heat oven to 350°. Mix filling ingredients and place 1/2 cup of the filling mixture into each pepper half. Then place peppers into an ungreased 9x13 glass baking dish or pan. Cover with foil and bake for 50-60 minutes or until tender. Garnish with salsa and serve with chips and more salsa and rice.

*Choco Coco Crunchers

1 pkg. German chocolate cake mix
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 eggs
1 cup coconut
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup corn flakes or flake cereal, crushed
1 cup oatmeal
1 (6 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°. Combine cake mix, butter and eggs well. Add remaining ingredients. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake 8-12 minutes. Makes 4-5 dozen.

*Bonus Recipe

A person can't have too many desserts, so here is an extra one this week. It takes a little extra time because it has a lot of basic ingredients, but it's really very easy. This dessert is great when you want to make something special on those cool fall or winter days. It will make your house smell good and give your family warm fuzzy feelings!

Don't let the word dumpling strike terror in your heart. They really aren't difficult to make, especially with this recipe where you use canned biscuits.

Apple Nut Dumplings

Fruit Mixture

1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. vanilla
6 cups (6 medium) apples, peeled and sliced

Dumplings

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 (17.3 oz.) can Grands buttermilk biscuits

In a large pan or Dutch oven, melt butter and add sugar, water, vinegar and cinnamon. Mix well. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer. In a small bowl mix 1/4 cup water and cornstarch. Stir into hot mixture, stirring constantly until smooth and thick. Add vanilla and apples. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer while making dumplings.

For Dumplings - Combine nuts, sugar and cinnamon. Separate biscuits, cutting each in half crosswise. Cut a deep pocket in each piece of dough and spoon 2 tsp. of nut mix into it. Seal edges well. Save remaining nut mix.

Bring fruit mixture back to a boil. Drop in all the biscuit halves and sprinkle with remaining nut mix. Cover and cook on medium heat 20-25 minutes until dumplings are no longer doughy. Remove cover and cook 10 more minutes.

Remove from heat and let sit 5-10 minutes. Serve with whipped topping or ice cream if you want.

Great Costumes for Less!

Dear Readers,

Do you need help with freezer meals? My friend Susanne over at Hillbillyhousewife.com has a great Freezer Cooking e-book collection that she is offering to our readers for 75% off this week. This Freezer Cooking Collection makes freezer cooking simple, with lots of pointers and recipes to help you get started. It includes 4 freezer cooking e-books and 5 bonus items! Check it out here!

We had a couple of questions about my Pampered Chef party. You can still order until October 30. To order, just click on the item you want to order from their catalog. Then click "how to purchase" and then you will be asked for the show host's name and just type in Tawra Kellam. That's it! Find the catalog page here.

Be sure to check out our Frugal Fall Decorations on the blog.

Also, on the livingonadime.com web site, you can find some great ideas for Halloween Decorations and read about our $25 Halloween Party.

Have a great week!

-Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

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If you would like to reprint any of the articles, tips or recipes from our newsletters for your newsletter (print or on-line), website or blog you may as long as you credit and link back to www.LivingOnADime.com .

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Great Costumes for Less!

You can really come up with some cute and clever ideas for costumes, even if you don't feel particularly creative. Don't wait until the night before Halloween to start your costumes. Look at the people and things around you and ask yourself how " how can I recreate this?"

Look at thrift stores and garage sales for costumes. Go ahead and buy the costume or piece of a costume if the price is right. You really can't go wrong spending $0.25 on a piece of a costume. Even if it doesn't work you haven't lost much.

Costumes can be very simple and still make a big impact. For example, instead of the usual witch robes, drag out your elegant black dress and add a witch hat with a veil of spider webbing stretched over your face. Cover the spider web with plastic spiders. For a man, a nice suit and tie and a funny mask makes a good simple costume. For a couple: get a REALLY big sweatshirt, both of you get in it and be Siamese twins!

Some examples of costumes for kids are:

• Sunflower - For the body, use a white sleeper or sweatsuit. Paint the child's face yellow, adding black spots to simulate seeds if you like. Make a flower to fit on the child's head out of felt or glue sunflowers on a white hat.
  


• Angel - Again use a white sweatsuit or long white dress for the body. Make wings out of heavy white poster board and paint the edges gold. Attach tie straps to them that go around the shoulders. You can also shape a metal clothes hanger into a wing. Make two wings, hot glue fabric around them and add straps.
  


• Pea Pod - Cut 2 small foam balls in half with an electric knife or a knife with a serrated blade. (Note: Do this BEFORE attaching them to the child! ;-) Wrap in green fabric and pin them to the front of a green sweatsuit. Make a hat out of 2 shades of green felt and a little brown felt for a stem.
  


• Lion - Buy a yellow hat or dye a white hat yellow. Buy long brown fake fur, yellow fake fur and a yellow sweatsuit. You can get fake fur at your favorite fabric store. Add brown fur to the top of the hat (for a mane), hot-glue yellow fur into a long tail, adding a poof of brown for the end. Pin the tail on the back of the costume. Make an oval of the fur for the child's tummy and use eyeliner for whiskers.
  


• Dalmatian - Pin black felt dots onto a pair of white sweats. Paint black polka dots on the child's face. Add more polka dots to a white hat, make some black felt ears and add black shoes to finish it.
  


• I Paint, Therefore I Am - Glue a copy of a painting with a face on it on a piece of cardboard. (For example, the Mona Lisa). Cut out the face and then use it as a mask with the child's face in the spot where the other face was.
  


• Race Car Stroller - Decorate a stroller as a race car by adding fabric or paper racing stripes and a number. Add two flashlights for headlights, plus some reflector tape. If you want to get really creative, add a wind foil, a foil covered paper towel roller for an exhaust pipe or whatever else your clever mind conjures up. Cut a steering wheel out of cardboard for the child to hold. Your child can wear whatever clothes he wants. Just add an old helmet or baseball cap worn backwards.
  

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Think of themes for all of the kids in the family:

It can be fun for all the kids to dress up in costumes that complement each other. Some sample themes are:

• Superheroes
  


• Vegetables
  


• Candy bars
  


• Rabbit family (or family of animals such as ducks, cats, dogs etc.)
  


• Cartoon characters (i.e. Mickey Mouse, Minnie and Donald Duck).
  


• They could also dress in pairs like a mouse and cheese, a plant and a watering can or doctor and patient. The sky's the limit.
  


• Christmas theme - One child could go as a present, another a Christmas tree, another Rudolph and the 4th as Santa.
  


• Wizard of Oz (We're in Kansas you know! ;-) or another movie theme.
  

It doesn't take a lot of money to be creative with your costumes and you will find that creative costumes are a lot more fun than store bought costumes. Just think about the things your kids like and the materials you have and try to think of a way to make something unique. You'd be surprised about the cute things you can come up with if you invest a little time in the thought.

Remember, the idea is for it to be fun and cute, so don't obsess about perfection and, by all means, involve the kids in making their own costumes. Just make sure you supervise or the costumes may turn out a little too "impressionist!" ;-)

Mexican Manicotti, Crescent Apple Cake

Hi Everyone!

Fall has definitely come to Kansas overnight and I'm loving it!

I've decided to have a Pampered Chef Party and you can join here. When you order, just choose me as your host.

A couple of years ago I had one and you can read about it here. A couple of their products were huge hits at our house! I had always heard great things about their food chopper and we LOVE it! I use that thing almost every day. It is one product that has certainly made chopping with Fibromyalgia a LOT easier. (No, I'm not getting paid to say that! :-)

In case you're wondering, "What is someone who promotes frugal living doing having a Pampered Chef Party?" you can check out my blog post about it here.

If you are getting ready and planning Halloween costumes, be sure to check out our costume article here.

We also have several other articles that might be useful. If you want to start planning your Halloween Party or think about how to use the leftovers be sure to check out our other articles about half way down the page here.

We hope you enjoy today's menu! Have a great rest of the week and get started on that fall baking!

-Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

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Today's Tips:

• When making muffins, fill each muffin cup with about 1 Tbsp. less batter than you normally would put in it. That much batter won't be missed and will give you 3-4 more extra muffins.
  


• Don't forget to freeze any extra muffins you have. They are perfect to include in a lunch with a thermos of soup and will be thawed by lunch time. They also make great last minute after school snacks. My grandkids love corn muffins with a little butter and lots of syrup or honey on them. Jelly is good too.
  


• If your corn bread turned out extra crumbly or if you have a couple of extra pieces left, crumble them up, add a little melted butter to them and sprinkle on a casserole.
  


• Always try to make do with what you have. The recipe below (Mexican Manicotti) is a great example of how to use all of those "Mexican" ingredients you have on hand when you are out of tortillas. You can adapt it in other ways, too, if you don't have all of the ingredients. Let's say you have no sour cream on hand but your family loves cottage cheese. Just substitute cottage cheese for the sour cream.
  

Today's Menu:

All these recipes are good to make if you are going to have a busy day the next day. You can make them all the day before and finish them off the next day.

Mexican Manicotti*
Coffee Shop Corn Bread*
Cucumber Salad*
Crescent Apple Cake*

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"I gave a copy to my mom and I have one. It's so good I'm thinking of getting one as a gift for my sister. It is my "go-to" cookbook when I'm wondering how to make something from scratch!" -Tracy

At almost 500 pages, Dining On A Dime includes over 1200 recipes and tips like these to help you keep more of your money.

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Today's Recipes:

*Mexican Manicotti

1 lb. ground beef
1 (16 oz.) can refried beans
2 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 (8 oz.) pkg. manicotti shells
2 1/2 cup water
1 (16 oz.) jar picante sauce
2 cups (16 oz.) sour cream
1 cup cheddar or Mexican blend cheese, shredded
1/4 cup sliced green onions, optional
Sliced ripe olives, optional

Combine uncooked beef, beans, chili pwd. and oregano. Spoon into uncooked manicotti shells; place in a greased 9x13 pan. Combine water and picante sauce and pour over shells. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake 1 hour at 350°. Uncover and spoon sour cream on top. Sprinkle cheese, onion and olives on top of that. Bake 5-10 minutes longer to melt cheese. Serves 8.

I am blessed with so many good cooks in my family. Here is a new twist on cornbread my sister in law just recently gave me.

If you are going to serve these with the Mexican Manicotti, you can make them the day before and simply warm the next day.

*Coffee Shop Corn Bread

1 1/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup oil

Combine all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Add to dry and mix until moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 425° for 12-15 minutes.

Here is another delicious recipe from Dining on a Dime. This is one of Mike's favorites!

*Cucumber Salad

3 medium cucumbers, peeled, diced or sliced
1/2 medium onion, diced or sliced
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Mix everything. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Serves 4.

*Crescent Apple Cake

1 (8 oz.) can crescent rolls
3 med. to lg. cooking apples, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

Topping:

1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar, depending on sweetness of apples
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. margarine or butter, melted

Heat oven to 350°. Separate crescents into 2 rectangles. Place in ungreased 9-inch square pan bringing 1/2 inch up the sides of the pans. Seal perforations. Arrange apple slices on crust. Combine topping ingredients until crumbly and sprinkle over apples. Bake 35-40 minutes until apples are tender.

Serve with slice of cheese, ice cream or whipped cream.

Is There a Way Out of Debt?

Dear Readers,

Today mom is talking about how to deal with the discouragement of feeling like you can't get out of debt. I needed to read it myself this week. We don't have any car loans or credit card debt, but we are working hard at getting our house paid off so we can be totally debt free. We even put my beloved VW Bug up for sale to put the money on the house. Even though we're focused on paying down the house, each week for the last two weeks our car has died. We have spent $1,000 fixing it to only get up this morning and find that it's dead again.

Things in life are going to happen but you just have to keep going and keep your eye on the goal. We paid off 20K in debt while we were earning $22,000 a year. We didn't do it in just a few months. It took us five years of hard work and sacrifice but we got it paid off, without claiming bankruptcy and you can, too!

If you are in debt trying to get out, this week's story is for you!

If you haven't been there in a while, check out the new uppdates on the blog.

Enjoy!!

-Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

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Is There a Way Out of Debt?

I was at some people's home the other day and as often happens with Tawra and me, we started talking about debt. Our hostess and her husband were like many people. They got married, got some credit cards and started spending. They were up to their eyeballs in debt.

After years struggling and living with the stress of it, they decided to change and have now been debt free for a couple of years. When I spoke to the woman, she said something that I found interesting and it got me thinking. (Now we're in big trouble-- I'm thinking!) She said, "When you are in so much debt, you can really believe there is just no way out."

Based on the e-mails and comments we get from readers, I know what she says is true. There is a way out in most cases, but the sad thing is that people often just can't think rationally in that situation.

Have you ever seen a movie where a scatter-brained person falls into the water and starts flailing his arms and screaming "Help, I can't swim! Help, I'm drowning"? The people on the shore look at each other and shake their heads, yelling, "Put your feet down."

The person in the water is screaming "Help me, help me, I need help!" so loudly that he can't hear them. He is splashing so hard he is causing water to go up his nose and into his mouth, almost drowning himself.

Finally he hears them, but he still doesn't do what they say because he is too busy trying to figure out how to keep himself from drowning. All of a sudden, his feet go down and he realizes that he could have touched the bottom at any time.

Even standing, the water is up to his neck and a wave will hit him in the head once in a while but he can still walk to the shore one step at a time and save himself.

Many of you feel like you are drowning in debt and can see no way out. You may think there's not a way to save yourself. We sometimes have ourselves convinced the only way for us to be saved from our debt is for someone to come and rescue us (like the government, family and friends and even God).

---

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and save!

"I really can't say enough good things about the Dining On A Dime Cookbook!"

"I gave a copy to my mom and I have one. It's so good I'm thinking of getting one as a gift for my sister. It is my "go-to" cookbook when I'm wondering how to make something from scratch!" -Tracy

At almost 500 pages, Dining On A Dime includes over 1200 recipes and tips like these to help you keep more of your money.

Try Dining on a Dime and start saving today! Learn more here.

---

If someone does try to save us we are so afraid and we often fight so hard that we are liable to pull that person down and cause him or her to go under, too. (This can happen when parents help kids, when one spouse pulls the other down or even when friends try to help).

You might say, "But this is money-- It isn't water and I can't just put my feet down and expect that all will be well. Maybe not, but you can do what we and other financial advisers have been yelling from the shore for years. It is almost as simple but you can't hear it above your screams for help.

What is it? Stop Spending. Really stop spending. Stop spending on everything. Just stop spending.

People constantly ask me, "How did you get out of debt?" What it all boils down to is I stopped spending. I bought only the bare necessities in food, shelter and clothes and sometimes I even did without those. My grandson has a T shirt that just makes me crack up. It shows these bears on their way to a camping trip. One has a TV strapped to his back, another a boom box, another a computer and so on. The caption says "The Bear Necessities". We all laugh at that, but the truth is that's the way most of us think and live.

Here's an example of the thinking that helped me get out of debt. I went to the grocery store the other day where they had coffee for fifty cents. I thought, "Boy would I love to buy a coffee and sit at one of those tables with a book and read," but I didn't do it. I bought the bargain loaf of bread that I came for and left.

Once, when I did a similar thing, I had a woman sarcastically say to me, "It's only fifty cents". That same woman was the one I mentioned at the beginning of this story, who was "swimming" in debt at the time. Each fifty cents makes a difference, each $50 makes a difference and, if you are buying a car or a house, don't tell yourself that $500 here and there doesn't make a difference. If you spend because you say, "Life is short. You need to enjoy it while you can," you cause your own stress and will always have financial trouble.

If this is your attitude, life is going to be very short for you and your family. Because of that extra $.50, $50 and $500, you are almost under water. Stop being afraid. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Stop screaming and flailing, put your feet down and save yourself. Stop listening to that little voice that says there is no way out and you can't save yourself. That voice is only you deceiving yourself. Don't choose to believe you are drowning when you really aren't.

Put your foot down and stop spending.

Quick and Easy Breakfasts

Dear Readers,

In today's newsletter, you'll find more quick and easy breakfast recipes and tips.

Today on the blog, we are talking about the cost of Sweet Tea. If this is a favorite drink in your house run over to the blog and check it out.

Have a wonderful weekend!

-Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

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If you would like to reprint any of the articles, tips or recipes from our newsletters for your newsletter (print or on-line), website or blog you may as long as you credit and link back to www.LivingOnADime.com .

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Today's Tips:

• Keep a large container of cinnamon and sugar mixed together (about 1 tsp. cinnamon to each 1/2 cup sugar) to use for all kinds of things. Pour in a shaker and use for cinnamon toast, sprinkle on French toast or oatmeal. When you need it for recipes like today's biscuit recipe, pour some in a bowl to roll them in. You can also pour it in a bowl to roll snicker doodle cookies or balls of bread dough for making monkey bread.
  


• You don't have to buy frozen waffles and pancakes. Make your own and freeze them. When you have time, make a double batch, one to eat and one to freeze. If you prefer, just place those three or four leftover pancakes you always have in a bag and freeze. Keep adding to the bag and at the end of a couple of weeks you will have enough for a whole meal. You can also use them for snacks for the kids.
  


• If your family loves banana muffins try adding a few chocolate chips to your batter for a special occasion or just for something different. Don't forget-- you can make any muffin batter special by adding different things like dried fruits, white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips to it.
  


• When making monkey bread or any recipe that calls for cutting dough, try using your pizza cutter. It makes the job quick and easy!
  

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Check out the Dining On A Dime Cookbook and save!

At almost 500 pages, Dining On A Dime includes over 1200 recipes and tips like these to help you keep more of your money.

The recipes are easy to cook and can be made with ingredients you can actually find at your local grocery store!

Try Dining on a Dime and start saving today! Learn more here.

---

Today's Recipes:

This week, I am continuing to give you breakfast recipes. Some of these are old stand-bys, which may be very simple to some of you. I'm including them here because we can get overwhelmed with the millions of recipes we have to choose from and can forget that our families often love the old favorites.

All of these recipes but the monkey bread can be found in our Dining of a Dime cookbook.

Cinnamon Biscuits

1 can refrigerator buttermilk biscuits
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine, melted
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar

Mix cinnamon and sugar. Roll biscuits in melted margarine and then in cinnamon and sugar mix. Place in an 8x8 pan. If you have any margarine left, pour it over the top of the biscuits. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until brown. Serve warm.

Refrigerator Donuts

1 can refrigerator buttermilk biscuits
Oil for frying
1 cup powdered sugar or 1 cup granulated sugar and
1 tsp.cinnamon

Place sugar into a sack (I use a paper sack but you can use plastic), so that it is ready to use. Punch a hole in the center of the biscuit either with you finger or a doughnut hole cutter. Heat oil to 350° on medium heat. Drop donuts in oil and fry until golden brown. Then flip to the other side until brown. Set on a paper plate or towel while you place more donuts in the pan. Then, while the second set is cooking, shake the previously cooked donuts in the sack with the sugar to coat them.

Note: The sugar that is left in the sack can be saved in the sack and reused the next time.

Breakfast Sausage

Years ago, I asked myself, "Why should I make my own sausage?" until my daughter made this recipe. Then I fell in love with homemade sausage. It is amazingly easy to make-- even easier than meatloaf or meatballs. You can use or store it just like regular sausage after you make it.

1 lb. ground pork
1/4-1 tsp. sage (to taste)
1/4-1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/4-1/2 thyme (optional)
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1-3 Tbsp. water

Mix and knead until blended. Refrigerate in an air tight container for 2-3 days for flavors to blend. Make into patties and fry until golden brown.

Banana Monkey Bread

1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 cans buttermilk biscuits, quartered
2 bananas, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup nuts (pecans or walnuts)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400°. Grease a loaf pan well.*

Place sugar and cinnamon in a bag and mix. Add biscuits, bananas and nuts. Coat well with sugar and pour into pan. In a sauce pan, melt butter and brown sugar until dissolved. Add vanilla and then pour over biscuits in the pan. Bake 30-40 minutes until golden. Let set for 10 minutes before serving.

*Note: Bake on a cookie sheet covered with foil because this sometimes boils over and it will make the cleanup easy.

*If you find that it is too sweet for your taste, you can cut the brown sugar and butter in half.